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​Hearst Introduces 7 Years Younger: The Anti-Aging Breakthrough Diet

By Abigail Alderman, Hearst CorporationPublished on 02.18.14

The 7 Years Younger diet is a first of its kind, with a focus on anti-aging benefits and improving overall well-being.

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Early last year, Hearst published
a revolutionary and scientifically-backed anti-aging guide: 7 Years Younger, from the editors of Good Housekeeping. Helping people to
lose weight, look younger and feel better, the guide quickly became a New York Times bestseller and the 7 Years Younger franchise continued to
expand across other Hearst brands including Redbook,
Woman’s Day and Country Living. Last month, Hearst released 7 Years Younger: The Anti-Aging Breakthrough Diet, a follow-up to
the best-selling original book. The diet is a first of its kind, with a focus
on anti-aging benefits and improving overall well-being. Samantha Cassetty, M.S., R.D., nutrition director at the Good Housekeeping Research
Institute, shares the details behind the revolutionary new
plan.

In addition to losing weight, how else does
the 7 Years Younger Diet help improve
health?

Samantha Cassetty: We’ve devised a plan that helps people lose
weight, but also helps fend off chronic illness and has amazing beauty
benefits. The plan features an endless amount of anti-aging nutrients—the same
nutrients that are going to lower blood pressure and blood sugar and reduce the
risk of things like heart attack, cancer and diabetes. People’s skin becomes
thinner as they age, so this diet also helps to lessen that reaction. The
nutrients in the 7 Years Younger Diet
give your body a natural boost to defend against harmful UV rays and other
environmental exposures that tend to damage the skin.

The 7 Years Younger diet helps people lose weight, but also helps fend off chronic illness and has amazing beauty benefits.

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What are some of the super foods that are highlighted
in the 7 Years Younger Diet?

Cassetty:
We’ve found focusing on specific food groups to be more beneficial to overall health.
Foods with omega-3s, including frequently consumed options like canned tuna,
lox and salmon, provide amazing anti-aging benefits. Omega-3s can calm
inflammation, reducing skin redness experienced by many people as they age. Vitamin
C-rich foods also provide excellent beauty benefits, including measurably less
wrinkles. Many people think Vitamin C just comes from citrus, but other foods
like broccoli, strawberries and peppers are all also amazing sources of Vitamin
C.

Beta-carotene rich foods, which
tend to be associated with orange produce, are also excellent for skin health.
The nutrient helps your skin hold on to water, causing it to appear more supple
and moisturized—this is ideal for dry, thinning, aging skin. Another benefit: People
who eat large amounts of beta-carotene appear to have tanner looking skin. Because
sun is one of the major skin wreckers, it’s great to offer people an option for
a healthy glow without the sun.

We’ve also included ample amounts
of lean protein on the diet, which helps people to feel full when trying to
lose or manage their weight. Additionally, lean protein supplies the building
blocks of collagen, skin’s support layer. As collagen weakens with age, it
starts to loosen, creating sagging and wrinkling.

Can you tell me about some of the research behind
the creation of the 7 Years Younger Diet?

Cassetty:
Initially, we went through medical journals to look for the science around how
diet affects skin health, aging and the prevention of chronic diseases. We also
established a panel of 26 participants who spent seven weeks on the program. We
had a number of women lose close to 20 pounds, and one man lost 28 pounds, all
within the seven weeks. Many of our participants wanted to continue with the
diet, and one woman has shed 50 pounds!

Having the panel allowed us to
observe the effects of the diet and also provided us with examples of the diet’s
possibility for longevity. Many of our panelists can confirm that this is the
last diet they’ll ever need because it’s easy and it’s effective. Our panelists
experienced many benefits from the diet that we didn’t even tout in the book—their
hair looked better, they were sleeping better, they had more patience for their
children. One woman told me that within days, she was off of her acid reflux
medicine and finally able to sleep well again.

Tell me more about the meal plans and all of
the great recipes. How do you help make it easier for the dieter?

Cassetty:
The meal plan was designed to be completely flexible and interchangeable. We
call it the 3, 4, 5 plan, which stands for 300 calories for breakfast, 400 for
lunch and 500 for dinner. This design matches how most people really eat during
the day. Within every meal category, each meal is completely interchangeable.
If you don’t enjoy bagels and lox, you can eat the oatmeal option for breakfast
instead. After the jumpstart week, women move up to two snacks a day and men
move up to three or four, depending on their calorie level.

So many people correlate diets with
hunger and deprivation. We aimed to dispel all of those conceptions because
this diet is very food-centric. It’s all about the food tasting good and
satisfying cravings—this diet even has burgers, tacos and pizza. At the beginning,
the panelists kept expressing their shock that they didn’t feel hungry while
losing weight. We’ve developed the diet in a strategic way so that it provides
the health benefits and weight loss, but it still comes with all of the taste.

For me, as a single working mom,
there was no way that I would help to develop and promote a plan that didn’t
let me make the same thing as my child for dinner. I don’t want any person out
there thinking that their friends and family get to enjoy delicious food while
they have to suffer. The dieters can even order meals from many restaurants,
including Subway, Chipotle, Arby’s, McDonald’s and Olive Garden. We recognize
that people want to go out to eat with their families, so we’ve given them
options to be able to do that in a way that’s 7 Years Younger-friendly.

How does fitness play into the diet?

Cassetty:
The number one thing we suggest 7 Years
Younger dieters do is get a pedometer. People who are tracking how much
they exercise tend to walk about a mile more per day without even thinking
about it. We had a panelist who would volunteer to do the grocery shopping for
his wife so that he could get in some extra steps while walking down the
aisles. The book is not about becoming a fitness fanatic; it’s about easy ways
to fit activity into your lifestyle. If you have the desire to do more, you
can, but if you just want to be an active person, this plan helps you do that.

How can readers use the diet workbook to
enhance their experience?

Cassetty:
The workbook is a great companion to the book. Research shows that the single
most effective thing that people can do to lose weight is to keep track of what
they’re eating. It’s especially helpful for people who are emotional eaters
because it can help them pinpoint the reasons for overeating. On top of that, the
workbook has some great shopping lists and helps you follow the diet even more
successfully.

Can you tell me about a few of your favorite
meals and snacking tips from the book?

Cassetty:
Bringing lunch to work is a really great option. People who bring lunch from
home tend to be leaner that those who go out to eat each day. The plan presents
ideas for everything from healthy sandwiches to how to doctor a can of soup
with spinach and feta to make it taste fresh. We do recognize that people enjoy
going out, so we also include great lunch suggestions from restaurants that
stay within the diet framework.

One point that we highlight
strongly is limiting sugar, because sugar is one of the major skin wreckers.
However, there are smart ways to satisfy your sweet tooth. We have a list of
snack bar options at no more than 120 calories and seven grams of sugar that
taste just like candy bars. Liquid calories are also an issue. For example, coffee
starts off as a healthy drink, but you can leave a coffee shop with a meal’s
worth of calories.

The idea behind snacking here is
really to snack strategically and with items that will actually fill you up. It’s
possible to satisfy a craving and get full at the same time, all with great
anti-aging benefits.

Many panelists who took part in the 7 Years Younger diet say this is the last diet they’ll ever need because it’s easy, and effective.